eBay Motors app adds search-by-image feature

The eBay Motors smartphone application has a clever new feature. Users can now take a photo of any car they see on the street and the app will find similar listings for them automatically. Want to know how much that 2005 BMW M3 in the parking lot is going for right now? Just point and shoot. We tested the app ourselves and found it to be fairly accurate. It had no trouble honing in on a Toyota Sienna, but struggled a bit with editor-in-chief John Neff's 1991 Ford Taurus SHO.

The good news is that if the app gets confused, it just asks you for more information about the vehicle. Users can also be notified when they've been outbid on an item, share their auctions via Twitter, and watch special racing coverage with host Justin Bell. Hit the jump to check out the full press blast.
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Start your Engine with eBay Motors' Updated Mobile App, Featuring Live Streaming

Under-the-hood coverage of Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway featuring Justin Bell will kick off live streaming on eBay Motors' mobile app,just one of the new features announced for the app

Daytona Beach, Florida (Jan. 27, 2012) - eBay Motors today announced new updates to the eBay Motors iPhone® app, available for immediate download on iTunes, with features including taking a picture of a vehicle to instantly search for it on eBay, and streaming live, exclusive content. The eBay Motors iPhone® app already enables auto lovers to shop for vehicles and the parts that go with them anytime, anywhere – the updates announced today enable auto fans to further simplify their shopping experience, make sharing with their friends more seamless, and access entertaining and informative original content, right from their smartphones.

With the eBay Motors iPhone app's new streaming feature, car enthusiasts can watch live broadcasts exclusive to eBay Motors from auto events and races directly from their iPhone or iPod Touch®. To kick off this feature, former Le Mans winner Justin Bell will host live, behind-the-scenes coverage at the 50th Anniversary Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway this weekend, January 26-29. The coverage will complement the live broadcast onSPEED, ongoing updates on GRAND-AM.com, and "after-hours" coverage on SPEED.com. The footage will also be streamed live on the World's Fastest Car Show website, the online destination for eBay Motors' weekly auto adventure show.


Bell will be among the drivers of the No. 4 Children's Tumor Foundation/ Racing4Research/Magnus Racing Porsche GT3, sponsored by eBay Motors, and competing in the GT (Grand Touring) class in the Rolex 24. In addition to the around-the-clock webcast on the World's Fastest Car Show website, Bell will also serves as SPEED's "in-race" reporter, giving live reports and updates directly from the No. 4 eBay Motors/R4R Porsche while he is racing on the track.


"Being able to compete in this event at such a historic venue, while providing coverage race fans will love, is a great privilege," said Bell. "The all-time greats have been in this race, and to be a part of that history while writing a new chapter with first-ever live mobile broadcast of the event will be very special. For every fan that has ever wondered what it's like to be a driver, this will be as realistic a glimpse into our day as they've ever seen before."


Another featured aspect of this weekend's unprecedented television and online programming from eBay, SPEED, SPEED.com and GRAND-AM.com will be a post-race auction on eBay Motors of the one-of-a-kind "Rennsport Edition" Porsche Cayman S, a special commission from the organizers of the Cayman Interseries for this past October's Rennsport Reunion at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The Cayman Interseries was part of the weekend's racing action at Rennsport, the ultimate celebration of Porsche's accomplished racing heritage, and the special blue and yellow Cayman S paid tribute to the event. The car was autographed by the dozens of the legendary drivers in attendance and also has the names of every factory racing Porsche ever produced and the great international circuits on which these famous drivers and machines raced.


Proceeds from the "Rennsport Edition" Porsche Cayman S auction will go to the Children's Tumor Foundation (CTF), which benefits children with Neurofibromatosis (NF), and provides funding for research to find a cure for the disease. The No. 4 eBay Porsche will carry CTF's Racing4Research message in the Rolex 24 while the webcast will actively promote the NF cause all weekend. The Rolex 24 Racing4Research program has become the annual kickoff event for CTF fundraising each year and donations can be made at www.racing4research.org.


In addition to live streaming, new features for the eBay Motors iPhone app include:


· New Search! See a car you like? Use Vehicle Finder to take a picture of the car and find it on eBay – no typing required
· Win more stuff! Receive notifications for when you are outbid, when items you are watching are ending, and updates on the current Best Offer
· Easily update your Garage! Haven't uploaded a photo of your car to the Garage? Stock images for vehicles are now available for quick and easy profile updates
· Share with your friends! Easily share the parts and vehicles you are buying or selling with your followers on Twitter (currently for iOS 5 only)


"Car lovers have embraced mobile shopping with 127,000 parts and 2,800 cars sold each week worldwide through eBay mobile applications alone," said Steve Yankovich, eBay's vice president of mobile. "We are enhancing this experience with entertaining original content and Vehicle Finder image search. The eBay Motors app is a one-stop destination for auto fans, from their next purchase to behind the scenes footage of a raceway event, whether they are at home or on the go."


To tune-in to eBay's coverage of the Rolex 24, visit http://mobile.ebay.com to download the eBay Motors mobile app, and visit the World's Fastest Car Show website on days leading up to, and during race weekend.


To bid on the special "Rennsport Edition" Porsche Cayman S, go to www.ebay.com/ctfauction for details.

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